Earth, our shepherdess

The Celebration of the Gospel

 April 22, 2018 —Fourth Sunday of Easter
Earth Day

“I am the good shepherd….
There will be one flock, one shepherd.”

 —John 10.11, 16

  _______ We Gather as the Body of Christ_______

GREETING

PRELUDE      Thanks To God For My Redeemer      John A. Hultman

[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.
]

* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader:  Creator of World, Womb of the Universe, thou Love,
who has called all things into being, and who has called us here to worship:
All:  we praise you with lips and lungs of your glory, with hands of your making.
Christ, love of God embodied, gentle Lamb and faithful Shepherd,
you who have fed us in the wilderness:
we thank you with songs of your love, with hearts made new.
Holy Spirit, wind of heaven, breath of life, you who hold all living things as one:
with all Creation we sing your praise. Alleluia!

* SONG         All Things Bright and Beautiful         Blue hymnal # 147

___________ We Attend to the Word___________

(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME

(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG    Shepherd Me, O God  —  Marty Haugen

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Pastor:   The grace of God is with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Trusting in God’s tender mercy, we open ourselves in honesty to God.
God of love, help us to see ourselves with the eyes of love,
to see what is in us that is loving,
and what is not loving.

God, we recall when we have been in harmony with you, or with life, and we give thanks. [silent prayer…]
We recall when we have been out of harmony, and we seek your grace.   [silent prayer…]
God of mercy, in Christ you have shown us your grace.
Forgive us, heal us, and perfect your love in us.   [ silent prayer…]
THE WORD OF GRACE
RESPONSE       Alleluia       Black hymnal  #2014

LISTENING PRAYER
Loving God, shepherd of our souls, you provide for us; you guide us; you lead us to new life.  We turn to you now, to listen for your voice.  Call to us, and lead us out to do your will, in the name and the spirit of Christ.  Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT    Genesis 1.26-31
[God creates humans as part of a beautiful, nourishing ecosystem.]

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the divine image God created them; male and female God created them. God blessed them, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
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* PSALTER       Psalm 63
[A celebration of God’s grace in nature.]

Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose
and bring near to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges,
softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
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NEW TESTAMENT  from 1 John 3.14-24

[Jesus laid down his life for us; and gave us his spirit.  Eternal life is not life after death: it is Jesus’ love living in us, leading us to love as Jesus loved, even laying down our lives for others.]

Leader: We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another.
All:  We know love by this, that Christ died for us—and so we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
How does God’s love abide in someone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Let us love, not only in word or speech, but in the truth of our actions.
This is God’s commandment: that, trusting in the love of God’s Own, Jesus Christ, we will love one another, just as God has commanded us.
All who live by this love live in God, and God lives in them. We know that God lives in us, by the Spirit that God gives us.
+

GOSPEL           John 10.11-18
[Jesus as our shepherd: he lays down his life for the sheep, and he and the sheep know each other. He maintains unity in the flock.]

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd will die for the sheep.  The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.  The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as Abba God knows me and I know God. And I lay down my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.  For this reason Abba God loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Abba God.”
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SERMON             Earth,  Our Shepherdess

SONG  I Am Your Mother     Black hymnal #2059
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]
RESPONSE: This is my prayer.  All: This is our prayer.

SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST

______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____

OFFERING OUR GIFTS               Praise To The Lord         Max Reger

*  OFFERING SONG                Doxology       Blue hymnal  #94

*  PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you our lives, symbolized in these gifts.  Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will.  You have shepherded us in love; lead us now out into the world to do your will for the sake of the healing of all Creation, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.

THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

*  SONG            This Is My Father’s World            Blue hymnal # 144

*  THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE    Westand and sing to our neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.

POSTLUDE     Heavenly Sunlight     G. H. Cook, arr: Mark Hayes

[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]

 

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